Farmers and Lisbon - The right decision

THOUGH farmers are right to be concerned about the implication of the current round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks it would have been unwise of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) to recommend to its members that they reject the Lisbon treaty.

Yesterday’s commitment from the Taoiseach to use, as a final resort, the veto option should the WTO position not change is all the assurance farmers needed to support the treaty.

It is difficult to see how a farm organisation could vote against an EU proposal as 40% of the EU budget still goes on servicing farm payments. Rejection in the country that enjoys the highest per capita Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) income — €423 per person — would be very hard to understand. Greece, at €277 per head is the second highest per capita CAP earner, a comparison that shows how fantastically well Irish farmers have done from EU membership. Any other decision would have been wrong for Ireland and wrong for Irish farmers.